- New report claims only 2% of English schools currently have formal AI strategies
- The lack of clear policies means the industry is not working together to define safe use cases.
- Clear strategies, but also room for experimentation, are the next steps
New data from Accenture has revealed that although schools in England are already using artificial intelligence to support learning, only 2% actually have formal strategies in place.
Aside from full deployment strategies, only 12% of the 200 secondary schools surveyed have any type of AI policy, leaving an overwhelming majority to invest and deploy blindly.
As a result, most schools ultimately conduct informal experiments with AI, but nationally, a lack of consistency or shared learning within the education system could leave the sector several points behind companies and their commercial counterparts.
Going beyond experimentation requires a clear strategy
“Many school leaders are going through this change without clear direction or confidence to implement technology effectively,” said Matt Prebble, Accenture UK and Ireland director.
Yet schools lag far behind businesses, with 27% of executives and senior leaders indicating they have an overall AI strategy, according to Gartner data (via India Times).
In addition to surveying around 200 secondary schools, Accenture also conducted 30 in-depth interviews with school leaders, who generally believe AI has significant potential to improve education once the initial issues are resolved.
Right now, leaders are concerned about plagiarism, patronage, and bias. Teachers are also considered in AI deployment, even in the absence of formal strategies: almost two-thirds (63%) cite a lack of staff confidence.
But early adopters are already starting to see results, with common use cases across education including lesson planning, generating quizzes, and writing practice exam questions.
Separate government reports also imply that AI can help provide personalized feedback and support personalized learning, as well as administrative tasks that would otherwise reduce staff teaching time.
The report also reveals how top-down leadership can impact the role of AI within a given school, with skeptical leaders leading to slower and more uneven adoption.
“Building leadership capacity and providing practical support to adopt AI responsibly will be key to ensuring its benefits are delivered consistently and equitably across the education system,” Prebble added.
Regionally, London leads with 29% of managers using AI on a daily basis, compared to just 12% in the rest of England.
Support for AI use and deployment begins to be written
“Security should be the top priority when deciding whether or not to use generative AI in your educational institution,” the Ministry of Education emphasized. Industry regulator Ofsted also supports the responsible use of AI.
But with artificial intelligence no longer an experimental novelty and pressures from Ofsted monitoring, schools are being urged to consider more detailed strategies when deploying AI.
“The biggest risk is to do nothing and assume you can just continue as is,” an anonymous headteacher told Ofsted in a separate report.
James Toop, CEO of Teach First, also highlighted the impact that poor strategies could have on schoolchildren: “Ensuring that every young person, regardless of their background or location, can safely benefit from the opportunities offered by AI must be a priority for the education system.
Accenture and Teach First have outlined five key priorities for schools looking to advance their AI strategies: school leaders and executives should engage more directly and visibly with AI; policies must clearly define the objective and limits; initial pilot projects should start where the value is clearest before progressing; teaching staff should be allowed to experiment with use cases; and shared learning should complement formal training for a more comprehensive approach.
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